Discuss and Rate the Last Thing You Watched (non-movies)

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,690
11,192
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Dalisclock said:
Hawki said:
I'm actually surprised they reached Xadia so quickly. Assuming there's going to be six seasons, and they reached their destination by the end of season 2...I'm actually wondering if there might be two halves to the season. Like, Zym gets back to his mother by the end of season 3, but they still have to deal with Aaravos by the series end (and if you don't think he's going to be the big bad, I have property on the moon I can sell to you).
I have a feeling that we're gonna find out more about the Humans being expelled to the other side of the continent. Because so far the story is "Humans discovered Dark Magic.....Humans were expelled out of Xadia" with the implication the elves were just being dicks about it(from the Human POV). I can't help but think a lot more happened between those two events and we just aren't being told yet.

And I would not be suprised if Aaravos was neck deep in all of that.

Hawki said:
But as for the lack of discussion...maybe it's because it's more niche? Avatar is fairly well known (least in geekdom), but it had the benefit of being free to air. Dragon Prince is meanwhile stuck on Netflix, and is kind of doomed to stay in Avatar's shadow. Like, I love Dragon Prince, but I'd still call Avatar the superior series.

And by Avatar I mean Last Airbender. Not Korra.

Bleh to Korra. :(
I didn't think about the netflix thing but that makes sense.

I liked Korra alright, but the series had a fair number of flaws, not including way too much time on the pro-bending and love triangle in season 1, among other things. Not to mention the Korra/Kasumi thing which just seems like it drops out of nowhere at the end(I don't mind that they're an item, but it felt like there wasn't much build up to that).

I kinda liked the "Game of Bending" feel to Korra but Avatar is the superior show by far.
I was ok with LoK at first, but as the years went on, I hated it more and more to the point where I can't even stands the site of the sequel series anymore. I sold all the box sets to a Books-A-Million. Korra felt like an adaption of someones bad fanfic. I've already said this before in previous posts, but I hated how they derailed Aang and Toph, the love triangle went on way too long and went nowhere (this is not the only modern kids show to have this problem), annoying and useless side characters (Kai and Suuyin come on down use wastes of oxygen and carbon), getting rid of Ying/Yang for generics "Light vs. Darkness", explaining things that were better left mysterious/ambigous, and wasted plot ideas. Season 3 and 4 were better, but not by much. I'll say that S4 made me hate Suuyin even more and put the Spirits on mine and everyone else's shit list. Fuck them! The Korra/Asami (Dalislock you called her Kasumi; hilarious) pairing was an ass pull for some brownie points. I hate to say that, but it's true. The fact that this is from the original creators pissed me off even more, and showed they had not learned from most of their mistakes when doing the sequel comics, and their egos went up. I forgot the Dragon Prince, but I have almost no interest.
 

Hawki

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 4, 2014
9,651
2,173
118
Country
Australia
Gender
Male
Dalisclock said:
I have a feeling that we're gonna find out more about the Humans being expelled to the other side of the continent. Because so far the story is "Humans discovered Dark Magic.....Humans were expelled out of Xadia" with the implication the elves were just being dicks about it(from the Human POV). I can't help but think a lot more happened between those two events and we just aren't being told yet.

And I would not be suprised if Aaravos was neck deep in all of that.
It's certainly possible.

Something I complained about in my season 1 review is that while the show has Callum and Ezran unlearn their prejudice against elves, Rayla never seems to drop her prejudice against humans (by season 2 though it's kind of mellowed out though). Which, by extension, made it seem odd that no-one in the show ever mentions that humans were banished from Xadia for the actions of a single man. Whatever the risks of dark magic, I doubt that justifies banishing that man's entire race. Yet apart from the prologue, this act is never mentioned by anyone. Assuming it's an intentional ommission, it might suggest that:

a) Most people have forgotten about it (not out of the realm of possibility - 1000 years is a long time)

b) There's more to the story, or the story itself is a lie. After all, it's Aaravos delivering the prologue, but that's the only glimpse we get of him in season 1

CoCage said:
The fact that this is from the original creators pissed me off even more, and showed they had not learned from most of their mistakes when doing the sequel comics,
If I may ask, what mistakes? I've certainly been interested in the sequel comics, but never got round to reading them.

I forgot the Dragon Prince, but I have almost no interest.
Well, for what it's worth, the first two seasons of DP avoid the mistakes of the first two seasons of LoK (I didn't watch beyond season 2). So, if you're after something that harkens back to Avatar, and actually does some things better (e.g. antagonists),* then you'd probably like it.

*Like, not better than Zuko, but better than Ozai for instance.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,690
11,192
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Hawki said:
Dalisclock said:
I have a feeling that we're gonna find out more about the Humans being expelled to the other side of the continent. Because so far the story is "Humans discovered Dark Magic.....Humans were expelled out of Xadia" with the implication the elves were just being dicks about it(from the Human POV). I can't help but think a lot more happened between those two events and we just aren't being told yet.

And I would not be suprised if Aaravos was neck deep in all of that.
It's certainly possible.

Something I complained about in my season 1 review is that while the show has Callum and Ezran unlearn their prejudice against elves, Rayla never seems to drop her prejudice against humans (by season 2 though it's kind of mellowed out though). Which, by extension, made it seem odd that no-one in the show ever mentions that humans were banished from Xadia for the actions of a single man. Whatever the risks of dark magic, I doubt that justifies banishing that man's entire race. Yet apart from the prologue, this act is never mentioned by anyone. Assuming it's an intentional ommission, it might suggest that:

a) Most people have forgotten about it (not out of the realm of possibility - 1000 years is a long time)

b) There's more to the story, or the story itself is a lie. After all, it's Aaravos delivering the prologue, but that's the only glimpse we get of him in season 1

CoCage said:
The fact that this is from the original creators pissed me off even more, and showed they had not learned from most of their mistakes when doing the sequel comics,
If I may ask, what mistakes? I've certainly been interested in the sequel comics, but never got round to reading them.

I forgot the Dragon Prince, but I have almost no interest.
Well, for what it's worth, the first two seasons of DP avoid the mistakes of the first two seasons of LoK (I didn't watch beyond season 2). So, if you're after something that harkens back to Avatar, and actually does some things better (e.g. antagonists),* then you'd probably like it.

*Like, not better than Zuko, but better than Ozai for instance.
Several mistakes off the top of my head:

Forcing the reader to like a character that is unlikeable/unsympathetic (Mai). A character that was indfifferent about, got on my fuck you list.

The romance getting in the way of the plot or obnoxious (Aang/Katara and Zuko/Mai). Reading Smoke and Shadow pretty much kills Zuko/Mai as couple. Like I said in an older post, I'd always prefer Jin anyway over Mai.

Ruining the mystery of certain characters like Ursa or Koh. You do not want to know what they did with Koh's backstory.

Derailing characters like Azula of all things. Apparently she has "split" personalities and one of the most unrealistic depiction of mental illness it's insulting to those that are mentally ill. They kinda fixed this, but they should have not done it in the first place.

The comics having a fan fic feel due to the sloppy writing and disliked explanations.

If I can recommend you one of the comics, it would be The Rift. Other than that, you can skip the rest.

I will give Dragon Prince a shot since you enjoyed it.
 

Hawki

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 4, 2014
9,651
2,173
118
Country
Australia
Gender
Male
Star Trek: Discovery: Season 2 (3/5)

If nothing else, season 2 of STD is better than season 1. However, that's by a slim margin, and it's rife with their own problems.

Funny thing is, for season 1, I compared its quality to a bell curve, where it starts off weak, gets good in the mirror universe section, then declines in quality again at the end. Season 2, it's the opposite. It starts strong, ends strong (but goes off the rails), but it's in the middle that it drags. Still, season 2 is better than its predecessor in as much that it has better crew chemisty. Burnham is less of a wooden block, and the show feels more like an ensemble now...sort of. Like, Saru gets to visit his homeworld, Pike's got his own thing going on, Stammets and his husband have their resurrection thing, Tilly gets, um, kidnapped by spores (yes Lil Devils, I remember that), and so on. However, I get the sense that the show wants me to care about all of the command crew. When Pike takes command, he has the characters sound off, but I challenge you to say much about them off the top of your head. This comes to a head when Airiam gets possessed by Control, but while the show expects us to make a deal about it, I'm left to wonder why I should even care.

Also, there's Spock. Which ties into an issue that Discovery's had since day 1, and that's how it fits into the Prime Timeline. Now, I've never really been bothered by this, but while the actor playing Spock does a great job, it's hard to wrap him around being a Spock between the events of The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before, where in both cases he was played by Nimoy. Like, when he finally shaves at the end he looks the part, but, yeah. Spock is emblematic of a lot of Discovery, least in this season - solid in many ways, but hard to fit in with the broader canon.

Also, minor point, but for a show named Discovery, it at least does some actual discovering, even if it's following the Red Angel around. And given the acrobatics Burnham does at the end, I defy anyone who claims Kerrigan is problematic in Legacy of the Void to handwave that aside. Also, remember what I said about fitting in? Apparently space battles got a lot less intense between Discovery and TOS. Like, again, I'm not a big Star Trek fan, but it's becoming increasingly hard to reconcile with what we see in Discovery with the broader Star Trek canon. And the thing is, the show knows it. It makes clumsy attempts to explain away the lack of holograms in TOS. And the ending is one big contrivance to explain why Spock never mentioned Michael, or why no-one mentions the spore drive. It's a case of, well, this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb7YpEpr3oc

Also, Discovery gets shot into the future apparently. 32nd century or something, when the furthest we've gone up to this point in any meaningful capacity is early 25th, or late 24th if you're ending the timeline with Star Trek 09. The whole thing feels contrived and an overreaction to fan nitpicks. And, fine, I've been nitpicking, but I could live without such an extreme solution.

So that's STD for you. By its own, it's at least decent, and again, it's stronger than the first season because its character interactions feel much more natural. I can't deny it's got a solid production budget. But I also can't deny that season 2 feels like it's stepped into an identity crisis. Thing is, I'm also watching the rebooted Lost in Space series (yes, I'll review that as well), and while that's as far away from the original LiS as you can get, it commits to its tone and style. Discovery wants to have it both ways apparently. And as far as I'm concerned, it can't have it without making a mess of things.
 

Hawki

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 4, 2014
9,651
2,173
118
Country
Australia
Gender
Male
CoCage said:
Several mistakes off the top of my head:

Forcing the reader to like a character that is unlikeable/unsympathetic (Mai). A character that was indfifferent about, got on my fuck you list.

The romance getting in the way of the plot or obnoxious (Aang/Katara and Zuko/Mai). Reading Smoke and Shadow pretty much kills Zuko/Mai as couple. Like I said in an older post, I'd always prefer Jin anyway over Mai.

Ruining the mystery of certain characters like Ursa or Koh. You do not want to know what they did with Koh's backstory.

Derailing characters like Azula of all things. Apparently she has "split" personalities and one of the most unrealistic depiction of mental illness it's insulting to those that are mentally ill. They kinda fixed this, but they should have not done it in the first place.

The comics having a fan fic feel due to the sloppy writing and disliked explanations.
But, but, Dark Horse sent me an email today saying that they're the "ultimate continuation of Avatar." Why would they lie? WHYYYY?!

Also thought it was James Cameron's Avatar for a moment there. Yes, Dark Horse has two comic series named "Avatar." Go figure.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,690
11,192
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Hawki said:
CoCage said:
Several mistakes off the top of my head:

Forcing the reader to like a character that is unlikeable/unsympathetic (Mai). A character that was indfifferent about, got on my fuck you list.

The romance getting in the way of the plot or obnoxious (Aang/Katara and Zuko/Mai). Reading Smoke and Shadow pretty much kills Zuko/Mai as couple. Like I said in an older post, I'd always prefer Jin anyway over Mai.

Ruining the mystery of certain characters like Ursa or Koh. You do not want to know what they did with Koh's backstory.

Derailing characters like Azula of all things. Apparently she has "split" personalities and one of the most unrealistic depiction of mental illness it's insulting to those that are mentally ill. They kinda fixed this, but they should have not done it in the first place.

The comics having a fan fic feel due to the sloppy writing and disliked explanations.
But, but, Dark Horse sent me an email today saying that they're the "ultimate continuation of Avatar." Why would they lie? WHYYYY?!

Also thought it was James Cameron's Avatar for a moment there. Yes, Dark Horse has two comic series named "Avatar." Go figure.
As for the new set of comics set in the Last Airbender continuity and not LoK, I have no idea. You are on your own there.
 

Lil devils x_v1legacy

More Lego Goats Please!
May 17, 2011
2,728
0
0
Hawki said:
Star Trek: Discovery: Season 2 (3/5)Apparently space battles got a lot less intense between Discovery and TOS. Like, again, I'm not a big Star Trek fan, but it's becoming increasingly hard to reconcile with what we see in Discovery with the broader Star Trek canon. And the thing is, the show knows it..
Actually it reconciles it pretty well, they had to destroy a great deal of technology to prevent it from destroying all sentient life. This would mean that after the war against AI, they would be forced to use "dumbed down tech", like we see in TOS to prevent that from happening again. The experimental ship (Discovery) being sent into the future would also mean they lose all the experimental tech that was on board. They had mentioned earlier in the series that the technology on Discovery only existed on Discovery so when it went into the future, that technology no longer existed in the past. It was not just the technology from Discovery that was lost though, it was also the technology from Section 31. They likely passed laws at that time to prevent that from happening again, and classified the information on Discovery, Section 31 and the technology to keep people from trying to research it further and being able to weaponize it.
 

Hawki

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 4, 2014
9,651
2,173
118
Country
Australia
Gender
Male
Lil devils x said:
Actually it reconciles it pretty well, they had to destroy a great deal of technology to prevent it from destroying all sentient life. This would mean that after the war against AI, they would be forced to use "dumbed down tech", like we see in TOS to prevent that from happening again. The experimental ship (Discovery) being sent into the future would also mean they lose all the experimental tech that was on board. They had mentioned earlier in the series that the technology on Discovery only existed on Discovery so when it went into the future, that technology no longer existed in the past. It was not just the technology from Discovery that was lost though, it was also the technology from Section 31. They likely passed laws at that time to prevent that from happening again, and classified the information on Discovery, Section 31 and the technology to keep people from trying to research it further and being able to weaponize it.
Except clearly technology still progresses from TOS onwards. Like, maybe there's rules against AI, but that doesn't stop Starfleet from employing Data, or the Federation creating individuals such as the Doctor. Also, I have to ask if you want to employ safeguards against a repeat of Control, maybe don't classify those events to the point of treason? Like, learn from history and all that? And both the Discovery and Enterprise are using fighter craft in the final battle, which are completely absent from TOS (unless I missed something).

Thing is, whatever in-universe justification Discovery has, it can't hide the apparent out of universe justification, which is to avoid clashes with canon by removing Discovery from the timeline completely.
 

Lil devils x_v1legacy

More Lego Goats Please!
May 17, 2011
2,728
0
0
Hawki said:
Lil devils x said:
Actually it reconciles it pretty well, they had to destroy a great deal of technology to prevent it from destroying all sentient life. This would mean that after the war against AI, they would be forced to use "dumbed down tech", like we see in TOS to prevent that from happening again. The experimental ship (Discovery) being sent into the future would also mean they lose all the experimental tech that was on board. They had mentioned earlier in the series that the technology on Discovery only existed on Discovery so when it went into the future, that technology no longer existed in the past. It was not just the technology from Discovery that was lost though, it was also the technology from Section 31. They likely passed laws at that time to prevent that from happening again, and classified the information on Discovery, Section 31 and the technology to keep people from trying to research it further and being able to weaponize it.
Except clearly technology still progresses from TOS onwards. Like, maybe there's rules against AI, but that doesn't stop Starfleet from employing Data, or the Federation creating individuals such as the Doctor. Also, I have to ask if you want to employ safeguards against a repeat of Control, maybe don't classify those events to the point of treason? Like, learn from history and all that? And both the Discovery and Enterprise are using fighter craft in the final battle, which are completely absent from TOS (unless I missed something).

Thing is, whatever in-universe justification Discovery has, it can't hide the apparent out of universe justification, which is to avoid clashes with canon by removing Discovery from the timeline completely.
Data and the Doctor did not come until much later, not in TOS, likely after they had already learned to implement new safeguards necessary to prevent an AI takeover from happening again. When Admiral Cornwell died, Pike likely was promoted after, as he was an admiral in TOS. Pike was outspoken against certain tech and AI, and likely then would have voted to restrict it for safety after what he had just encountered. Pike is out of the picture by the time the next generation and voyager comes around, thus new leadership means new rules.

Here is a list of Star Trek Star fleet ships, not sure if it is complete:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek_Starfleet_starships

You also have to remember that TOS takes place in peacetime, not war and would not have a need to resort to use of certain military equipment and technology for that reason.
 

Hawki

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 4, 2014
9,651
2,173
118
Country
Australia
Gender
Male
Lil devils x said:
You also have to remember that TOS takes place in peacetime, not war and would not have a need to resort to use of certain military equipment and technology for that reason.
Um, sort of...in TOS, there's a constant undercurrent of Federation-Klingon Empire tensions that boils over at least once (Errand of Mercy), and the rest of it is a veiled analogy to the then-current Cold War. And if you want to argue that there's no reason to resort to certain military equipment, um, Balance of Terror? The Doomsday weapon? Even if the Enterprise is an exploratory ship, and little of TOS is based around action (partly due to writing, partly due to budget by my guess), it's still shown to be capable of engaging in action when the time comes. So when battles are far more 'simple' in TOS than the ending of DIS season 2, it's noticable.

Course, I don't care overmuch, in that a) the battle is actually quite well done, and b) I'm fine with just accepting the Doylist explanation, I feel the whole "send Discovery into the future and have no-one mention it ever" is a case of overcompensating. Like, at this point, I'm left to ask why even bother having STD as a prequel series. Say what you will about Enterprise (the show), it at least felt like the tech there was less advanced than TOS.
 

PsychedelicDiamond

Wild at Heart and weird on top
Legacy
Jan 30, 2011
1,923
746
118
Serial Experiments Lain

Welp, guys, I did it. At long last I managed to find the only good anime. Nah, just kidding. There's also Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Seriously, though, Lain is an anime series from... Jesus, 1998. This thing was ahead of its time by fucking decades. Anyway, as I was saying, an anime series from 1998 about an introverted young girl named Lain living in Tokyo in what the show, somewhat sarcastically, assures us is "Present day, present time". Now, the Internet in Lain's world is referred to as "The Wired" and appears to differ from our version of the web, especially as it was at the time, in quite a few ways. Lain and her classmates receive messages from a dead person and other parts of The Wired seem to bleed into reality, yet Lain seems very drawn to it.

It's not easy to describe what the series is about, exactly, at the very least not without giving too much of it away. It's an absolutely fascinating series, twisting Cyberpunk, Conspiracy Fiction and very H.R. Giger-esque technofetishistic bodyhorror into a haunting transhumanist creation myth. Somewhat like Deus Ex, done by the way of Inland Empire and no less cryptic in its storytelling. As I see it there's conspiracy stories and conspiracy stories and there's a very clear line that separates something like, let's say the entirety of Dan Brown's work, from the writing of the likes of Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow or Robert A. Wilson's Illuminatus. That line being a lot of research, of course. Something that Lain has certainly done, demonstrating a keen understanding of computer science, early internet culture, urban legends and various other esoteric subject matters.

Lain isn't the most accessible show but it's a fucking brilliant one. A meditation on identity, communication and technology in an increasingly connected world. I have no idea why I didn't watch it sooner but I'm glad I finally got around to it.
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
Started watching the Catch 22 series Hulu and George Cloony produced. Only seen the first episode so far but it seems good enough so far. The biggest change is that unlike the book, the show is doing it in linear chronological order, whereas the book and the film adaptation from the 1970's were infamous for jumping back and forth in the timeline as far as the narrative was concerned. So basically, this one begins with all the characters at bomber training school then then proceeding to them fighting in WW2.

I know part of it is to make the narrative a bit less confusing and partially so they could introduce all the characters early on by showing them standing in formation and displaying their names in massive subtitles one by one. Which kinda works and kinda doesn't because they are all 20 something young men who don't look that visually distinct from each other standing in ranks wearing military uniforms, so you get the names but that doesn't necessarily make their faces memorable. I initially questioned the decision to all the junior officer characters in the same training class together before going to the same unit together, but I noticed there were a lot more people training that aren't shown going to Italy so I can accept that it was just this dozen or so Airmen who went together.

I will give the show props for trying hard to recreate that feel of being set in the 1940's and damn if the B-25 aircraft don't look good on screen despite being a combination of mockups and CGI(since there can't be that many B-25's left at this point). The cast seems decent enough so far, though Jon "YoYo" Yossarian is the one who gets the most screentime so far(being the main character). George Cloony gets a bit of screentime in the first 10-20 minutes as Gen Scheisskopf, who is obsessed with Parades and yelling at people who don't Parade as well as he thinks they should(AKA Perfectly).
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
Legacy
Mar 10, 2016
26,690
11,192
118
Detroit, Michigan
Country
United States of America
Gender
Male
Star vs. the Forces of Evil Season 4 - I have to say, the finale was not that good. While better than Season 3's first half, this season as whole can be frustrating to watch. For one, the romance once again gets of the main plot. I swear, ever since Avatar and Danny Phantom (hated Sam by the way), it's mandatory in kids cartoon to have romanced shoved down the audience throat that is rushed and not that well developed, or predictable. To the current and future writers, please stop doing this! You are not being original and are wasting the audience's time!

Plot points are set up and quickly forgotten about before they start, and certain characters change off-screen for little to no reason other than to have a "twist". I hate to say this, but Star really got unlikable in the series finale.

<spoiler=Spoiler Rant Incoming>
Yeah, Star, get rid of the magic, that will solve all of your problems and won't get in the way of your feelings between you and Marco. It's not like doing so will kill millions of those relying on magic or those that can't survive without it. She basically pulled a Thanos, but unlike him, is supposed to be seen as a good thing. The merging of their worlds is seen as good thing, but like Legend of Korra, that is not the best decision at all. But at least Marco and Star are together now (sarcasm)!

Also, why the fuck does Mina get to live? She got ate by a magical horse! The only good thing about her living is that the air she took to the head (her skull helmet protected her), and Star and River giving her an epic stare that screams "who the fuck else is going to follow your crazy ass?". You guys killed off a bunch of characters off-screen for the sake of a crappy romance, and a dude explode on his death bead, but killing this one crazy ***** is a step too far? Fuck this character. I found her nothing, but annoying!



I think because of this, I can't even go back and watch the whole series again.

PS - Apparently the shows drop in quality starting just after Season 2 was because the writer left to go work on the Dragon Prince. Go figure.
 

PsychedelicDiamond

Wild at Heart and weird on top
Legacy
Jan 30, 2011
1,923
746
118
Doom Patrol

An overall pretty entertaining superhero show about a team of mentally damaged misfits fighting a fourth wall breaking villain. I'm not quite ready to call it a great show, while it had moments of great creativity I feel like it pulled its punches on some of it's weirder ideas too often but those ideas are still, for the most part, really enjoyable. It does show a potential in the superhero genre to embrace unconventional and progressive ideas. It did most definitely peak in its beautifully queer "Danny Patrol" episode, about a sentient street providing refuge to various outcasts and misfits, and never quite lived up to the standards that episode set but I still liked most of the series. The characters are all pretty well fleshed out and pretty well portrayed, it's very nice to see Brandon Frasier again, obviously having fun with his role. Other standouts include the releiably excellent Timothy Dalton and Matt Bomer, both of whom got some of the best emotional moements.

So, overall Doom Patrol is good fun. It's no Legion but then, what is?
 

Hawki

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 4, 2014
9,651
2,173
118
Country
Australia
Gender
Male
Star Wars Rebels: Season 3 (3/5)

Something to keep in mind as I review this is that it isn't really a full review - the last three episodes of the DVD I borrowed wouldn't play. And that's in addition to the usual BS of the DVDs stopping and starting because kids can't handle them properly. But even that aside, I doubt I'd have much more to say about this than I already do. The prior season had a sense of 'drive' to it, as the inquisitors constantly hunt down Ezra and Kanan. This season, on the other hand, doesn't. It sort of attempts to it, with the Callus/Fulcrum plot, as well as Thrawn, but it doesn't have anywhere near the same level of impact. Like, I dunno, maybe the last three episodes would change my assessment of this, but at the end of the day, the season is just average. So average I barely have anything more to say.
 

Hawki

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 4, 2014
9,651
2,173
118
Country
Australia
Gender
Male
Lost in Space: Season 1 (4/5)

Is it fair to call Lost in Space (the original) and Star Trek TOS rivals, considering that they were both soft sci-fi shows that aired at around the same time? If so, it's fair to say that Star Trek won the battle, as it went on to become a blockbuster franchise, while Lost in Space...didn't, to say the least. Still, come today, and the tables have turned a bit. Because on one hand, we've got Star Trek: Discovery, which is flawed in a number of areas. Then you've got the Netflix reboot of Lost in Space, which while not without flaws of its own, is easily superior to DIscovery in my eyes. So, let's get into how and why.

First thing to note, this isn't anything like the original, or so I'm guessing - like, I've never seen it, but I'm aware of its place in pop culture. So, when we're thinking of stuff like "the pain, the pain!" or "danger, danger!," then sorry, you won't find any of that here. This is a serious show - kind of like how Battlestar Galactica 2003 differs from the original. Whether that's good or bad is up to you, but in of itself, it's good. Also, this veers a lot towards the "hard" end of the sci-fi spectrum, as in, the solutions to problems feel scientifially plausible as opposed to technobabble. What also helps is that all of the characters, even the supporting ones, feel fleshed out. No-one's a stereotype, every member of the Robinsons has distinct character traits, and even the supporting cast feel real. I will admit that the show's Dr. Smith/June Harris is a bit off, like, not off in the way the show wants her to be. I can see what they're going for, as she tries to manipulate everyone around her, but it comes off as iffy. Also, sometimes, it feels like the characters are holding the idiot ball in regards to her manipulating them. But her aside, the characters are nice to be around. Even the robot gets something of a personality/character arc, but if you're guessing the arc is based around discovering its 'humanity,' then congratulations, you're not an idiot.

So, that aside, what about the season's downsides? Well, something to note is that this is very much a slow burn show. Like, every episode flows into the one after it, but the rate of flow isn't that constant, and at times the show can drag. Also, the show suffers a bit from a lack of worldbuilding, as we get vague allusions to what life's like back on Earth, but they remain just that - allusions. We know a meteor's hit the planet (though it's implied towards the end it might have been an alien spacecraft) that's coated the planet in dust, but there's reference to it being a "dying world." Also, Alpha Centauri. That's a colony that exists. Don't know how, don't know when, but the crew's part of the 24th Colonist Group. How did groups 1-23 fare beforehand? No idea. Was Alpha Centauri terraformed? No idea. When does this show take place? No idea. These are arguably minor gripes, but what amplifies them is that the show will use flashbacks, but irreguarly. Like, if I'm thinking of the gold standard of flashbacks in a TV series, Lost comes to mind, but here, it's not nearly as well integrated with the plot. Lost's flashbacks could payoff seasons later, and while that's a possibility that remains here, I'm skeptical that'll be the case. I guess a thing to keep in mind that you need to be patient with this show, because at times, it can drag. Worth it in the end, but still, slow at times.

Also note that the show's arguably a case of false advertising. Like, for the entirety of season 1, the Robinsons and all their fellow colonists are stuck on the one planet. So, not so much "Lost in Space," but "Lost on alien planet that's a lot like Earth in terms of flora, if not fauna." Trying to evade spoilers, but the characters don't really become "lost in space" until the final minutes of the season. I've got the sense that season 1 is kind of set up as a prologue, whereas the rest of the story will be more "lost in space," so to speak. If it's the job of season 1 to flesh out the characters of the Jupiter 2 before casting them out into the unknown, it does a good job. But if that's the case, I'm left to ask what happens to the other characters who aren't, ahem, "lost in space" as well. Like, will the show cut between the Jupiter 2 and the Resolute, or will they just appear at the end?

Dunno. But I'm eager to find out. Because while the season isn't without its flaws, it's certainly a solid start.
 

stroopwafel

Elite Member
Jul 16, 2013
3,031
357
88
PsychedelicDiamond said:
Lain isn't the most accessible show but it's a fucking brilliant one. A meditation on identity, communication and technology in an increasingly connected world. I have no idea why I didn't watch it sooner but I'm glad I finally got around to it.
You should give Texhnolyze a try. It's by the same creators as Lain and it's hands down the best show I've ever seen(anime or otherwise). Infact I can't think of any story that ever impressed me more. It's a product of visionary genius.
 

PsychedelicDiamond

Wild at Heart and weird on top
Legacy
Jan 30, 2011
1,923
746
118
stroopwafel said:
PsychedelicDiamond said:
Lain isn't the most accessible show but it's a fucking brilliant one. A meditation on identity, communication and technology in an increasingly connected world. I have no idea why I didn't watch it sooner but I'm glad I finally got around to it.
You should give Texhnolyze a try. It's by the same creators as Lain and it's hands down the best show I've ever seen(anime or otherwise). Infact I can't think of any story that ever impressed me more. It's a product of visionary genius.
I've heard of it! Isn't it supposed to be super bleak and depressing?
 

Gergar12_v1legacy

New member
Aug 17, 2012
314
0
0
I watched burn down the house on Netflix, it was fine. The only bad thing was Kristen Jello brand endorsing Neoliberal cuck Joe Crowley.